Uncovering and reinstating disused drain

sgoode

My house is a very typical 1930s 3 bed detached. I am in the process of uncovering a drain that has been covered over with tarmac.

There are 2 downpipes coming from the roof gutters. One goes to the back of the house and the other is at the front. We have a car port between our house and the neighbouring house. When the carport was built they cut off one of the downpipes and redirected it so that all rainwater runs off the carport roof and into the car port gutter. The downpipe from the carport gutter is a piece of waste pipe (i.e. sink/washing machine) which is fed into one of the drains at the rear of the property. This is clearly ludicrous as it can in no way handle the flow of water from the roof of the house. I will replace this anyway with standard downpipe but I want to reinstate the drain at the front of the house that was covered over as when it rains hard the water shoots off the top of the car port all over the ground and completely misses the gutter.

I have dug up the tarmac from around the blocked drain and opened up the drain. The drain was covered over with a piece of slate and then concrete and then tarmac. I was careful but am not sure how much rubble fell down the drain. The top of the drain (original ceramic) is a bit cracked and fell apart but it appears to be ok lower down. I guess now I am not really sure what to do. Can I just put a downpipe into the drain and start using it, or do I need to investigate further? Does more of the tarmac need to be dug up?

It might make more sense with pictures:

Downpipe onto carport roof (my house looks like the one opposite):



Stupid waste pipe situation (the piece of plastic is to try and direct more gushing rain water into the downpipe):



Drain that I have uncovered - does it still look servicable?:


Thanks for looking.

sgoode

Just to add that I have 2 manhole covers in the front drive. I was thinking of pouring some water down the drain and watching for it if I lift the manhole covers. I guess I am worrying about whether the drain could be cracked under the ground or if it is blocked with rubble.

mttylad

If it is an old disused drain then you really should get it inspected to ensure it is not broken out of sight.

A leaking drain can cause problems with your foundations (I'm starting to sound like Sarah Beany now )

However, if you have no trees in the vicinity then your unlikely to have tree root damage so should be OK.

Just keep an eye out for cracks & damp in that corner of the house.